A New Israel Patents Commissioner?

The Hebrew-language Makor Rishon newpaper reported on Friday that the search committee tasked with finding a new ILPTO Commissioner has settled on Asa Kling, a partner in one of Israel’s larger IP litigation firms.  Unlike most lawyers in Israel, including most lawyers who specialize in IP litigation, Mr. Kling has a technical background: he holds a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Technion and worked for several years as an engineer prior to attending law school.  As of this writing, neither the ILPTO nor the Justice Ministry web sites have any information regarding Mr. Kling’s selection, presumably because the committee (the names of whose members have not been published, save for Guy Rotkopf, the Director General of the Justice Ministry, who chaired the committee) merely makes its recommendation to the Justice Minister, who has the final say in the appointment.  More likely than not, however, this is a mere formality, and an official announcement will be made soon.